School of Sustainability
Organisational unit: Research School
- Centre for Sustainability Management (CSM)
- Institute of Ecology
- Institute of Ethics and Transdisciplinary Sustainability Research
- Institute of Sustainability Governance
- Institute of Sustainability Material Flows and Circularity
- Institute of Sustainability Psychology
- Institute of Sustainable Chemistry
- Social-Ecological Systems Institute (SESI)
- Sustainability Education and Transdisciplinary Research Institute
Organisation profile
Sustainability has many facets. Inter- and transdisciplinary research and teaching characterize the School of Sustainability. Scientists in our research projects work together in the laboratory, on the heath, in the grassland, in the classroom, with the city administration, with farmers, with non-governmental organizations, with companies, with students in the lecture hall and of course at their desks.
Furthermore, we work with regional and national political actors, e.g. ministries, as well as international organizations, e.g. UNEP, UNESCO, EU. We are part of national and international bodies, e.g. sustainability advisory boards of companies, member of the German Sustainability Award, World Biodiversity Council (IPBES), in order to contribute to social change with scientific findings.
Main research areas
Vision
Sustainability science investigates on a theoretical, conceptual and empirical level how to promote sustainable development and how to find and implement effective solutions for current social and ecological challenges. The aim is to create a more sustainable future.
Sustainability researchers are called upon to take responsibility for their research, which is anchored in existing scientific knowledge and methods and serves to make the world a better place for everyone.
Mission
We promote change towards a sustainable future by developing theories, concepts and practices of inclusive education for sustainability, research, governance and management.
We acknowledge the diversity and dynamics of values, norms and behaviour and contribute with transdisciplinary methods to ensuring that tensions and differences between different disciplines, methods, topics and standards are fruitfully taken up and used with productive compromises and further developments towards sustainable development.
Principles
The School of Sustainability is guided by the normative concepts of ecological system integrity and social and economic justice.
Ecological system integrity refers to the safeguarding of life-support systems, as well as the maintenance of the well-being of life on Earth.
With social and economic justice we strive for a world in which all people can fulfil their potential without endangering system integrity and the well-being of others.
Information about the School
The School of Sustainability includes...
... ca. 25 professors
... ca. 100 research assistants
... ca. 1000 students in Bachelor and Master courses
In various inter- and transdisciplinary projects we are constantly researching and working together on changes and solutions for current challenges.
- PublishedWeaving values, knowledge and context to care for human–nature relationships in protected areasCebrián-Piqueras, M. A., van Riper, C. J., Andrade, R., Raymond, C. M., Goodson, D. J., Keller, R. & Plieninger, T., 08.2025, In: People and Nature. 7, 8, p. 1952-1971 20 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review 
- PublishedDeregulating to No Avail: How the Omnibus Package Falls Short in Simplifying Key EU Green Deal InstrumentsBertram, A., 01.06.2025, In: Intereconomics. 60, 3, p. 170-175 6 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Comments / Debate / Reports › Research 
- PublishedIntroduction to ‘Exploring the frontiers: unveiling new horizons in carbon efficient biomass utilization’Liu, Z. H., Li, B. Z., Yuan, J. S., Clark, J., Zeidler, V. Z., Laurens, L., Ragauskas, A. J., Coutinho, J. A. P. & Han, B., 02.06.2025, In: Green Chemistry . 27, 24, p. 6922-6924 3 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research 
- PublishedDevelopment and Validation of the German Climate Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (GCAS-A)Voltmer, K. & Harloff, L., 05.2025, In: Praxis der Kinderpsychologie und Kinderpsychiatrie. 74, 4, p. 350-370 21 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review 
- PublishedThe Challenge of Introducing Sustainability-Oriented Innovation—An Ethnographic StudyŚliwińska, I., Beńko, P., Breuer, H., Ciesielska, M., Ivanov, K., Kasz, J. & Matras-Postołek, K., 06.2025, In: Sustainable Development. 33, 3, p. 4191-4203 13 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review 
- PublishedRechtsrahmen und Zuständigkeit für die Überwachung der Vorwäsche im Rahmen von Anlage II des MARPOL-ÜbereinkommensSchatz, V. J. & Ipsen, J., 2025, In: Zeitschrift für das Recht der Transportwirtschaft. 2025, p. 202-208 6 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research 
- PublishedPerceptions of nature and its non-material contributions to people at Mount KilimanjaroDegano, M. E., Augustino Kwaslema, S., Böhning-Gaese, K., Hemp, A., Lehnen, L., Martín-López, B., Pearson, J., Mueller, T. & Arbieu, U., 07.2025, In: People and Nature. 7, 7, p. 1697-1712 16 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review 
- PublishedQuantification of phototrophically grown Galdieria sulphuraria and other microalgae using diphenylamineHashe, L., Masudi, W. L., Chiyanzu, I., Schönfelder, S., Pleissner, D. & Cowan, A. K., 08.2025, In: Journal of Applied Phycology. 37, 4, p. 2329-2338 10 p.Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review 
- PublishedWe have to talk! Claims of early career researchers to transform circular economy researchBeyeler, L., Eimterbäumer, M., Jürgens, M., Böckel, A., Schoch, K., Bichler, R. M., Straub-Mück, M., Molnár, M. & Jaeger-Erben, M., 07.2025, In: Resources, Conservation and Recycling. 221, 3 p., 108423.Research output: Journal contributions › Comments / Debate / Reports › Research 
- PublishedContributions of Net-Map to sustainability action researchCortés-Calderón, S. V., López-Rodríguez, M. D., Jiménez-Aceituno, A., Castro, A. J. & Mancilla-García, M., 08.2025, In: Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. 75, 101542.Research output: Journal contributions › Scientific review articles › Research 
